The Most Delightful Time of the Year
by awabblertoday
Summary: Day 32/45. Father goes through the years from pathetic wimp, to mercy kidnapper, to fearsome villain and loving father. Not all miracles happen on Christmas.


A/N: You can see how many of my Author's Notes are/probably will be around the same, and I may start to copy and paste them. Being said, it doesn't allow me to own any characters (unless stated otherwise) any more than normal.

This is a sorta AU, with Father/Benedict kidnapping the 5 that become his children - but they are NOT the missing Sector Z. Plus it starts before any of them are born and goes to why Benedict chose them to be "adopted".

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Fandom: Codename: Kids Next Door Pairing(s): (fatherly) Benedict/Bruce, Ashley, David, Lenny, Constance Words: 3,475 Warning(s): child abuse; spoilers

1989

Nineteen-year-old Benedict Uno is a psychology major at Cleveland University. He has a roommate by the name of Byron Dickson, an overbearing twenty-year-old kid who thinks he is greater than anyone else. He is dating his high school sweetheart Elsi Rey. Benedict is also friends with Elsi and knows there is something wrong in their relationship, though Elsi never says a word in the affirmative. She constantly hides bruises and marks invading her arms, stomach and throat. Benedict sees them, but he is much too big of a wimp to go affront and say anything.

Also at his college and living in the basement of his dorm is Benedict's best friend from high school Doran Kulot. Doran is, in fact, a vampire - but he is a pacifist and a vegetarian. Benedict's older brother Monty is terrified of Doran, which is what sparked the friendship in the first place. Slowly, Doran is helping Benedict come out of his shell. He doesn't trust Byron either but sometimes goes out for drinks with the man. It takes a lot to intoxicate a vampire and Doran never drinks too much.

1991

Elsi is a straight-A junior but she drops out of college to have a son. Byron refuses to leave school and forces his girlfriend to stay with the boy and also keep working. He works as well, but during Christmas break, he doesn't go home. He doesn't stay at college, and by spring semester, he is gone. Elsi and her son Chadwick are left alone, but Doran checks on them ever so often. Benedict wants to, but cannot bring himself to visit because he blames himself for the assault and battery.

Doran and Benedict are seniors and the latter works at a candy shop under Mr. Jelly. Mr. Jelly has a son named Knightly, who is twenty and a college freshman. Doran has a job for Pottingsworth Plumbing Company, working under Lou Pottingsworth II and alongside twenty-year-old Lou Pottingsworth III. Lou doesn't know much about personal space or boundaries, and often asks inappropriate stereotypical questions that oftentimes make Doran wish he weren't a vegetarian.

1994

Doran and Benedict have graduated and still have their jobs. They are now also working at an office under Mr. Jeffrey Boss. He is a scary married man who claims to hate children despite the fact that his wife is currently pregnant. Doran and Benedict are separated here, with Doran on ground floor with Sidney Beetles - a twenty-two-year-old man. Benedict works four floors up, with Kani Sanban - a twenty-three-year-old man. In the same floor but working on slightly higher-up qualities are Genki Sanban - Kani's wife - and Byron Dickson.

It is obvious to see Byron is flirting with most of the women at work. He strongly dislikes Benedict, seeing the younger man as a brownnoser. However, he finds a one-sided friendship in Doran, and takes him out for drinks like old times. Elsi and Chadwick remain unseen, but Doran tells Benedict (after driving a passed-out Byron home one night) that he has a new wife and a set of twins. One boy and one girl.

1997

Benedict no longer works at the sweets shop. He is no longer (if he ever was) friends with Knightly. Sidney Beetles and his wife have a one-year-old boy at home: Wallabee. Likewise, Genki and Kani have a one-year-old daughter: Kuki. Benedict is slowly growing agitated at even the slightest move from Byron. They have gotten into a couple scraps by the bar after work hours throughout the year. Now, close to Christmas, it is rumored that Byron and his wife have gotten a divorce. Byron and Doran go out for drinks and Benedict wants to do something. He has seen dried blood on Byron's knuckles arriving to work late, despite apparently not having a wife any longer. With Byron and Doran out at a bar on the other side of town, Benedict slinks into Byron's cellar - easily roasting the padlock to open it.

"Hello?"

He calls out softly, using a tad of his pyrokenesis to ignite the palm of his hand for light. The young twenty-seven-year-old man adjusts his glasses, hearing a soft whimper from a corner closet. It is all boarded and chained, though the young man can easily burn through the troublesome obstacles without leaving a fingerprint to trace. When he unlocks the final bolt and opens the door, he comes face-to-face with a tied-up three-  
year-old blonde boy.

"Hi, my name is Benedict. What is yours?"

"Br-Br-Bruce." He glossy eyes shine in fear.

"Bruce." He repeats a little firmly. "Do you want to leave here and never come back?"

The child nods. Benedict thinks it over and decides this is something necessary. He holds the child gently and burns through the ropes, careful not to harm the boy's skin. When Bruce is completely untied, Benedict guides him out and the two creep out of the cellar. Benedict returns to his home with a new ill-gotten child of his own.

This is in March. Word spreads out and it is the only gossip of town for quite a while. At some point in August, the trail had run dry. Mr. Boss has to go on retreat, and he brings along Benedict and Doran for their excellent work - as well as Byron for all he has gone through. On the retreat, the company workers meet their sister company. The main man who runs it has a picture-perfect family. Mr. Boss and Doran immediately hit it off with Mr. Cavallero, his wife Dee and their five-year-old son David.

Benedict doesn't trust the parents, but enjoys talking with David. They are asked to board with them during the time allotted. Mr. Boss eagerly accepts it. Late in the night on the fourth day, however, Benedict hears unwelcoming noises over the basics. He discreetly creeps down to the boiler room, terrified to see the textbook parents berating on and beating their son. Immediately, a plan hatches in Benedict's mind. He calls his brother up for a favor: that if anyone calls him, their father is in the hospital. In reality, Benedict and Monty haven't seen their father in four years, but he knows Mr. Boss.

"Sir?" Benedict hesitantly knocks on Mr. Boss's door a little past three am.

"Whazzit!?" He angrily shouts through the door.

"My father isn't well. I'm leaving early to be with him in the hospital."

There is a long pause and Benedict feels terrified that his lie is seeping through. Instead, Mr. Boss lets out a long sigh and tells Benedict he can go, but he better not be late on Monday. The younger man promises his boss and runs out. He makes a detour though, opening a window in the basement thankful the coast is clear.

"Hey, David!" He whisper-shouts.

"Mr. Uno?"

"Do you like it here?"

David's shadowed face says it all. Benedict waves the boy over and holds out his hand. "Do you want to come live with me?"

David smiles half-heartedly and takes Benedict's hand. The bespectacled man takes David back to Cleveland with him, back to his house. He gives a special code-knock on his son's door and Bruce answers cautiously.

"You're back." He smiles, and then looks over to the slightly older boy. "Who's that?"

"Bruce, meet David. He's your new brother."

"Hi." David greets the blonde boy shyly.

"Hi."

1999

Bruce is now five and David is seven. They easily call themselves brothers, as easily as they call Benedict their father. They've had horrible dads, but their father is kind. When he is home, they play games and bake cookies. When he has to leave, the boys choose a room in the house to stay in until their father gets back. He says people will be mean if they see the two of them together, that they will understand in the future. At one point, the three are playing jacks by the fireplace. David is winning and Bruce says something that blindsides Benedict.

"Know what, Father?"

"What is it?" He smiles.

"I was thinking we could get a sister."

"A sister?" He bites his lip.

"Yeah. Like the one I used to have."

"Like the one.." Benedict raises an eyebrow, staring at his son. "You used to have a sister?"

"Yeah." He replies animatedly. "Before I lived here. My old mommy took my old sister away with her. My sister was fun. We played tag and hide n seek."

Early the next morning, Benedict is on a mission. The boys are in the master bedroom for the day, while Benedict searches through Byron's files. The man doesn't work at the company anymore, but Knightly Jelly does. The twenty-eight-year-old has a lot of plans, though they mostly involve dentistry and a lot of people aren't listening. So, Knightly helps Benedict break into the sealed records. There, he finds Bruce's mom and sister.

He feigns an illness, claiming he caught something from Jeffrey Baker - a man who is almost always sick in some form or another. He works in first aid and emergency procedures. Benedict drives out of town to arrive at a very broken home. He carefully walks up to the rusty house, with the screen door falling off its hinges and empty alcohol bottles littering the scratched-up floor. He slowly makes his way through the partially-  
demolished house, finally finding a woman who has just about drunk herself to death sprawled out on the floor.

Benedict knows in the back of his mind, that he should call someone for her. Instead, he ignores the woman and searches some more of the house. He rummages through closets and cupboards, finally finding a shivering five-year-old blonde girl in a corner cabinet. She looks malnourished and overly pale. The man's heart drops at the sight of her. He drops to her level, lightly tapping her shoulder, when she flinches violently.

"I'm sorry, Mama! I jus' wanted a li'l taste!"

"Hey, there." He tries to ignore the fact that his heart is now in his stomach. "Are you Ashley?"

"Y-yeah-huh. Who're you?"

She turns to face him, but she cannot see. One of her eyes is swollen from some sort of allergy. The other is also puffy, but as a result to a shiner. She cannot see. She also has a few cigarette marks and scratches along her porcelain skin.

"My name is Benedict. I have two sons and I would like to take you to see them."

"W-Why?"

"Because your mommy is not a good mommy, but I can take care of you."

"Mommy scares me."

Her voice is just above a whisper, but it pierces Benedict just the same. He is lightly shocked when her hand wisps out of the door, hunting for his. He quickly thinks and reacts, carefully guiding her out of the kitchen and into his car. As they pull out of the driveway, her quiet voice pipes up again.

"Can we get someone else too?"

"Someone else?" Benedict is intrigued. "Who is it?"

"My bestest friend. Lenny."

"Is Lenny okay?"

She shakes her head. "He lives in the park with his step-daddy. They don't got a house and Lenny's got a broke mouth. And he wears a helmet everywhere cause his step-daddy hits him cause he blames him for not having a house no more."

"Lenny told you this?"

"Yeah-huh."

"Alright. How do we get to the park?"

The girl recites from memory, all the twists and turns to the park. She tells him that they live in a box in the woods just outside the park, so Benedict parks the car and rolls down the windows. He tells her to stay in the car because he doesn't want her to get hurt. She obliges and Benedict is grateful the weather has turned a bit chilly. Not many people are at the park. He notices only a select few kids: two redheaded girls and a boy in a football helmet. They briefly make eye contact, and Benedict quickly finds the man stroking a fire just outside an old abandoned ranger station.

"Are you Lenny's stepdad?"

"Ow de 'ell you know bou' my boy?" The man slurs angrily. "An' oo de 'ell is you?"

"My name is Benedict and I don't think you are an appropriate guardian for such a young boy."

"Kid's 'even 'ow, ain't no youngun brut 'bout 'im."

"Seven is still a young age." Benedict acknowledges.

"Ge' ou' 'ere, idjut. He mine and is gon' stay 'at way!"

"I am taking him with me." Benedict stands firm.

"Else 'at?"

Angrily, Benedict summons up some flames along his hands. He lets them grow ever so. The man's eyebrows shoot up in alarm. He stupidly holds up a bottle of whiskey and, without putting much thought into it, throws it at Benedict. This only ignites the fire farther, as whiskey is very flammable. The man stumbles back and falls over, nodding. Benedict lets the flames evaporate and smiles softly.

"Ow you do 'at, 'ud?"

"My father is a demonic soul." He towers over the darker-skinned man. "Thank you for relinquishing your guardianship to me. I will take wonderful care of Lenny."

"Uh-huh. Lenn-ay!"

The boy shoots quickly over. He is a very fast runner. It can be seen that the boy has gotten in trouble in the past for not coming immediately or quick enough.

"Yes, Sir?"

The man gestures to Benedict. "I ain't gon' see 'oo no mo'. Say 'lo te yer new dadd-ay."

Lenny looks up with fear in his eyes. Benedict smiles warmly despite his anger toward the drunk-minded man, and Lenny's gaze softens. The two turn back to the car.

"Where do you live?"

"Cleveland, Virginia."

"Do you have any other kids?"

"I have two boys and I just adopted a daughter."

"What are their names?"

"Bruce, David and Ashley."

"My best friend's name is Ashley."

"I know."

2000

Benedict's father's will surfaces, since he has been missing and is now presumed dead. Monty gets the brunt of everything, while Benedict is left with the family home - still being taken after by a man called Jeeves. Benedict moves his eight-year-old sons David and Lenny, as well as his six-year-old children Bruce and Ashley into the mansion. Bruce and Ashley are so happy to be reunited and they do nearly everything together. To Benedict's displeasure, this includes starting a toenail collection.

Knightly Jelly helps Lenny with his tooth problem, giving the boy halo braces, before delving into criminal activity of forcible dentistry. Benedict doesn't mind, as long as the man stays away from his children. When four-year-olds Nigel (with shaggy brown hair) and Abby are playing ball in an empty lot with a big tree, the ball goes over Benedict's fence and into the backyard. The two kids sneak over to retrieve it, meeting Bruce.

"Hi, what're you doing here?" Bruce asks, genuinely wondering if he's got new siblings.

"We came to get our ball." Abby points to the object not too far away.

"What are you wearing?" Nigel points at the boy's clean suit.

"We're getting our picture taken today."

"We?"

"Me and my brothers and sister." He explains. "We live here."

Soon after, Bruce's name is called from inside. He politely breaks away, handing the others the ball and running inside. Nigel and Abby walks back to the tree with their ball, Nigel the more paranoid of the duo. He has wild scenarios that the mansion is haunted by a child-hating demon that forces kids to do grown-up stuff like drink coffee, watch the news and dress nice.

A few months later, in June, Benedict and his kids are out of town. There, they come across a runaway girl. She is an orphan who isn't getting treated right at the local orphanage because she is the smallest and youngest. She is six and called Ogie, though she insists her name is Constance. On the spot, Benedict 'adopts' her and brings her back as one of his own just in time for Christmas.

Benedict has a beautiful tree in the parlor and he has created marvelous mechanical gifts for the children, as that is his forte. He is also creating an electromagnetic forcefield to keep other children's belongings out of his yard. It is dangerous at the moment, but he is working on it in his study - the only room of the house that he doesn't like his children to play in. He is much more confident than he had been just five years ago. He is a father now, with five wonderfully delightful children.

They have a fun Christmas, telling stories and baking treats. The children play with the toys and are excited when their father puffs a little smoke or adds a little playful flame. They have fun on just the fire alone. Concentrating hard, Benedict can make his soft flames glow an icy blue, reminding them of fiery snowflakes. He makes it so it doesn't burn the children. The glow isn't even very hot. This is one of the last grateful, innocent moments for the children.

By the time next year comes around, Sector V of the Kids Next Door is forming. Nigel is appointed leader, but he delegates to Abby. The boy has a sinking suspicion that Benedict and his children aren't all they seem to be. He hasn't seen Benedict, only overhearing his father talking about him. Plus, he cannot get over his encounter with Bruce. He sneaks into the mansion via Benedict's study. The man had been sleeping in there, working himself too hard. When the brown-haired five-year-old and Kids Next Door operative-in-  
training had fallen from the window, he had crashed into a mound of discarded inventions. This had startled Benedict into throwing his flames - most of which had hit his unprocessed forcefield.

The invention had shot across the room, directly hitting Benedict and Nigel with two very fine and very different lasers. The five children had barged in. They had known they hadn't been allowed in there, but they had been too fearful for their father to care. They had been hit with the most undeviating jolt of the machine. All in the house had cried out from the pain, collapsing at once.

Nigel is the first to recover. He glances at the collapsed heap of children in the doorway, and then stares point-blankly at the man at his side. The man looks mostly normal, but his arms and torso are shadowed by what seems to be a silhouette. Feeling disturbed and slightly sickened, he crawls out of the house and leaves for the new treehouse in process.

Benedict is next. He has lost a lot of memories, but he is angry. He doesn't know what he is angry about, but he knows he has five children, he lives in a mansion, and he is livid. The dark silhouette covers the rest of his body before he can recall what he originally looked like. One image swirls in his mind. A certain child by the name of Nigel. Most of his anger goes toward the kid, but only because he is the only lucid name in the man's mind. In a bout of fury, he allows himself to be covered in flames.

The intense brightness and heat awakens the five children on the floor. They open their eyes, now icily blue, and come to a synchronized standing point. They look collectively at the man in black doused in flames. The children are terrified.

"Father?" It is a collective gasp, alarming not only the man but the children as well.

"Yes, my delightful children?" He questions, powering down but keeping the silhouette.

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure." He answers determinedly. "But it has something to do with our neighbor Nigel."

2002

David and Lenny are ten. Bruce, Ashley and Constance are eight. They are wonderfully well-behaved delightful children. However, because of the blast two years ago, the harmonizing quintet are also very powerful enemies. They act like sociopaths on their collective birthdays - five each year. There is one in April, one in August, two in November and one in December. Ashley and Bruce spread their shared birthday to the end of the month so they can celebrate it twice.

Benedict is known by all as Father. He has control of his silhouette by now; it is a part of him. He can shapeshift into a dragon when enraged. He hates all children but his own - especially those brats in Sector V. Nigel is his most-notable foe. Even as such, he cannot recall why he hates Nigel so much. It doesn't take long for Benedict to realize Nigel is his brother Monty's son; actually he realizes it a few months after the transformation. Still, he hates his biological family and only loves his transformed family.

2003

Doran appears on Benedict's doorstep on Halloween, hoping for a place to stay. Apparently, Sector V had duped him into spanking an innocent child. Doran Kulot is now Count Spankulot. Benedict refuses to call him that, as Doran refuses to call his best friend Father. With Doran's promise to not spank the delightful children, he is allowed to stay in the mansion.

That Christmas, instead of a spanking - that Doran had been deviously hinting at - the Count had helped the children's father in creating some magnificent toys in an attempt to bring back some joy in the monotonous children's lives. It only works very shortly.

2004

In November, for the children's birthday, Father has grown increasingly sadistic. He is plotting to bake most of the kids in town into one large cake for his children. The quintet discover what is happening and, shocking as it is, decide cake isn't all that important. They enjoy cake for the other holidays: most notably Christmas Eve. Despite wanting to celebrate their birthday with cake, they do not want their father to go to such extremes. They discreetly bring the information to the biggest blabbermouth (in their opinion) of the Kids Next Door: news commentator Nick Ward.

Nick informs Hoagie, who defeats Father. Later that year, at Christmastime, Father expresses his shame in not succeeding in the tube race birthday cake attempt. His children are very supportive, making mental note to also reprieve him for next year's attempt. This year, they are twelve and ten. Benedict briefly wonders if David and Lenny will be broken out of the delightfulization entrapment when they reach their teen years. Doran still lives with them, taking up residence in the basement.

2008

David and Lenny are sixteen, though stuck in their twelve-year-old bodies. Bruce, Ashley and Constance are fourteen, though stuck in their ten-year-old bodies. Nigel and Abby actually are twelve, and the rest of their sector is eleven. The Delightful Children are celebrating a collective birthday, when it isn't any of their birthdays. Actually, it is Father's birthday. January. There is an elaborate scavenger hunt, ending with Nigel having the pipe and the Delightful Children falling to their possible deaths.

The children are in comas, being (forcibly) aided by Toiletnator, Common Cold, Gramma Stuffum, Mr. Wink, Mr. Fibb, Edna Jucation, Miss Goodwall, Nurse Claibourne, Professor Bob and Soccer Mom. Count Spankulot is there free of charge and free of fear (for the most part). Father is liable to erupt in a mountain of flaming rage if his children are not being watched. Five watch the five children at a time, with Father and Spankulot just outside. Day in and day out.

2011

The Delightful Children break out of their comas collectively, though their shining eyes are gone. Father's silhouette hardly has come out in the past few months, though he has proven his strength. When Soccer Mom had quit, Benedict had informed her "there is no quitting. There is only firing." At that point, he had sent a fireball in her direction, calmly asking if anyone else wanted to be fired from looking out for his children. They break out under the watchful eyes of Toiletnator (Constance), Common Cold (Lenny), Edna (Ashley), Gramma (David) and Count Spankulot (Bruce).

"Benny! They're free!"

Benedict runs into the room and excitedly sees that his children are awake. Even better, their eyes aren't glowing and there is a serious affection winkling in them. The children cannot move from their beds just yet, but Benedict dismisses the others - Doran stays - to embrace and just be with his children. It is his Christmas in July.

By the time of actual Christmas, the children can move on their own. Thankfully, they don't remember much of the final battle, but they do remember their lives as monotonous, obedient Delightful Children. Somehow, in their comas, they have not only been de-delightfulized, but their ages have morphed to one. They are no longer children. They are fourteen-years-old. They re-adopt the surname Uno and make an agreement with Father to attend high school next semester. Until then, Bruce, Ashley, Constance, David and Lenny will spend as much time as possible with Benedict and Doran as one dysfunctional but happy family.

[][][][][-Please, tell me your thoughts. Reviews matter!-][][][][][]  



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